Which rug size goes with your sofa?

1. All of the sofa on the rug. The sofa, the coffee table and any armchairs all stand on one large rug. It is the most generous look and defines the living area clearly, ideal in large villa rooms and open-plan spaces.
2. The front of the sofa on the rug. The rug slides under the front 15 to 20 cm of the sofa and the front legs of any armchairs. It is the most flexible option: it ties the furniture together without needing a huge rug.
3. The rug just in front of the sofa. The rug stops short of the sofa. It only works in small rooms, and only if the rug is still clearly wider than the coffee table and comes within about 10 cm of the sofa.

Whichever you choose, lay the rug with its long side parallel to the sofa. A rug narrower than the sofa makes everything look smaller, including the room.

Two examples with our sofas. The Nuage 3-seater is 230 cm wide, so a 200 × 300 cm rug laid along it leaves 35 cm on each side: just right. The Brioche 2-seater, at 206 cm, fits a 160 × 230 cm rug with 12 cm on each side, a little under the ideal but fine in a small room; a 200 × 300 cm rug looks more generous if you have the space.

With a corner sofa, the rug should sit under the front of both the main seat and the chaise, so the L and the coffee table read as one group. A 250 × 350 cm rug is usually the minimum, laid with its long side along the main seat.

Take the Nuage corner: 262 cm wide, with a 152 cm chaise. A 250 × 350 cm rug laid along it reaches 44 cm past each end, and the front of the chaise rests on it too. In a big room, a 300 × 400 cm rug that holds the whole sofa looks even calmer. For the Comfo with a chaise or a corner (343 cm) and the Doudou (352 cm), choose the 300 × 400 cm rug: it reaches about 28 and 24 cm past each end. The Comfo is modular, so measure the shape you choose: its longest U-shape, at 457 cm, sits best on a rug longer than 400 cm.

Round rugs also suit corner sofas: they soften the straight lines of the L. Choose one large enough to reach under the front of the sofa, often 250 to 300 cm across.

The side of the chaise does not change the rule. Whether it is on the left or the right, always as seen when you face the sofa, centre the rug on the seating group and the coffee table rather than on the wall.

A rug looks best with a frame of bare floor around it. A common rule is 20 to 30 cm in small rooms and 45 to 60 cm in large ones. In a big villa living room, a rug that stops well short of the walls creates an island for the seating area, which is exactly what you want.

Many homes in the UAE have tiled or marble floors, and that changes a few things:

• Use a rug pad. It stops the rug sliding on smooth floors and protects the stone underneath.
• Enjoy the softer sound. Large tiled rooms echo; a big rug absorbs much of it and makes conversation easier.
• Mind the walkways. Keep the edge of the rug out of the main path, or make sure the path runs fully on or fully off it, so nobody catches a foot on a corner.

It sounds backwards, but a larger rug makes a small room look bigger. A small rug floating in the middle cuts the floor into pieces; a rug that reaches under the sofa and close to the walls makes the room read as one generous space.

Under a 2-seater, a 160 × 230 cm rug is a good minimum, and it is best not to go narrower than the sofa itself. If your room is long and narrow, keep the rug under the seating area and leave the walkway on bare floor, which is also easier to sweep. For more small-space ideas, see the right sofa for a small apartment.

Fine sand and dust settle in every UAE home, and a rug collects its share. A flat weave or short pile releases it easily with a weekly vacuum; a deep shaggy pile holds on to it. For a home with children or pets, a washable or low-pile rug saves a lot of effort.

Strong sun through large windows fades rugs just as it fades fabrics, so turning the rug every few months helps it age evenly. Choose the colours together with the sofa: a rug a few shades lighter or darker keeps the room calm, while a pattern that picks up the sofa's colour, whether Terracotta, Olive or Biscuit, ties the scheme together. Our guide to cleaning a sofa in a dusty climate covers the sofa side of the routine.

Before you order a rug, mark its outline on the floor with masking tape, then the sofa's outline inside it. Check that the front of the sofa lands on the rug, that the coffee table sits in the middle and that the walkways stay clear.

If the sofa is not chosen yet, start there: the Will it fit? tool on each sofa page draws the sofa to scale against your wall in seconds, with the centimetres you have to spare. Then come back to the chart above. If you are placing the coffee table at the same time, our coffee table guide gives the distances and heights.